Cindy McCain, the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), has issued a distressing call for aid as the organization grapples with a critical shortage of funds needed to provide essential assistance to millions of people in Afghanistan.
She stated that last week’s earthquakes in Herat have deepened the “unimaginable suffering” of people in the country.
“WFP is on the ground responding, but funds are stretched thin. We’ve already had to cut life-saving aid for 10 million Afghans, and a bitter winter approaches. We need help. Millions of lives are at risk,” McCain said.
On the occasion of World Food Day, WFP also said that a staggering 15 million people in Afghanistan are uncertain about where their next meal will come from, representing a third of the population.
“The Herat Earthquake is yet another disaster on top of an already dire humanitarian crisis. Afghans need urgent support,” the organization said.
Adding to the already grim circumstances, the Herat Earthquake, which struck recently, has deepened the suffering of people in the province.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan, has also raised concerns, stating that 318,000 people urgently require humanitarian assistance in the wake of the earthquake.
Of this number, more than 76,000 are women and girls of reproductive age, and over 7,400 are currently pregnant.
In response to this critical situation, “UNFPA has mobilized its partners to provide maternal and newborn care in the affected communities, to ensure safe births.”
Last week two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes devastated large swathes of Herat province and left over 1,000 people dead and thousands homeless. On Sunday, another 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the same region, causing further damage.
